A lifer expat mummy in Kuwait blogging on things to do in Kuwait for kids and adults, places to visit, fun and cultural events, general info, shopping bargains and interesting stuff. Email: LWDLIK@gmail.com

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Monday, November 29, 2010

HELP! PAWS to be Forced Out of New Shelter all the Animals are at Risk

From K'S PATH..﻿

2010 has been an exceptionally difficult year for the animal welfare community in Kuwait. In March, K’S PATH experienced a deadly fire that took the lives of 42 animals and destroyed the majority of our shelter complex. 43 dogs had to be evacuated by air to the United States and an additional 20 dogs were placed into foster care due to a lack of temporary shelter space. 35 cats had to be placed in foster care as well. At the same time, the temperature soared and our wild and farm animal population continued to grow and receive care. In October, at long last, construction was completed and K’S PATH again began to accept animals.
Meanwhile, the other animal welfare organization in Kuwait, the Protecting Animal Welfare Society or PAWS, was facing problems of its own. In early 2009, PAWS received notice that they would be forced out of their facility by the end of 2010. In November of this year they vacated their space in Old Wafra and moved to a new space near Kebd.
On the 28th of November 2010, K’S PATH management was informed that PAWS would likely be evicted from their new space by interior ministry police forces responding to noise complaints. It was initially reported to K'S PATH that PAWS received notice on or around the 22nd of November that the nearly 80 dogs being housed outdoors in temporary caging were causing an unacceptable noise level and that police forces would respond by the 29th of November to “shoot the dogs.” History has shown us that police forces responding to noise complaints involving dogs frequently use the threat of lethal support to effect a rapid change. The most common method of actually dealing with the problem is to release the animals onto the streets so that they are no longer confined. Obviously the likelihood of that many pet animals surviving on the streets is nonexistent in Kuwait.
Without a formal request, and with our management away in the United States, K’S PATH immediately took emergency precautions to receive a reported 80 dogs and 80 cats from PAWS. Our shelter manager scoured our facility looking to partner friendly dogs together, conducted an inventory of all large dog cages in storage, inspected our emergency kennels in a greenhouse near our complex, surveyed our cat accommodations looking for space and did a count of available cat crates. The result was 10 permanent dog kennels, 14 emergency dog kennels, 21 large wire dog cages, 10 plastic dog crates, 7 cat cages, and 20 cat crates. We are also in the process of clearing a container full of new cat cages that had been ordered from the US at a cost of more than $35,000. Our volunteer coordinator put out a plea to our volunteers requesting they look at their schedules and attempt to accommodate one or more full shelter days to assist our staff in accommodating this huge influx of animals.
Though 80 dogs and 80 cats would more than double our current population of companion animals, K’S PATH stands ready to assist the animal victims of this unfortunate circumstance.
K’S PATH volunteers that have completed our volunteer orientation course can email volunteers@kspath.org. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to find out how they can help. Should we be formally asked to accept these animals, we will need emergency financial support as well. The medical costs of doing intake on 160 animals will be staggering, not to mention the additional cat litter and food. We will put out specific pleas in the coming days should they be necessary. Thank you for your support.
K'S PATH
Telephone: 965.6700.1622
Fax: 965.2523.4179

LWDLIK- Ok Kuwait government isn't it time to have some official, government funded shelters for God's furry creations.